Dental Implants for Bristol

More information on Dental Implants

Problems with Dental Implants

There are actually very few problems that occur with dental implants, so long as you maintain good oral hygiene dental implants will last for many years.

One of the biggest causes of failure and problems with implants is caused by the patient smoking. When you smoke you limit your body's ability to keep healthy and this is particularly true in your mouth. One only needs to look at a smokers teeth and you will see the dark staining which often happens. Smoking can hamper your body's ability to heal after the dental implant is placed and is often considered a contract indication for dental implants.

What is the dental implant procedure?

Most of the time dental implants are placed using only a local anaesthetic with the procedure being relatively quick and often completed in less than half an hour. If you are anxious of this appointment then we can always provide dental sedation to help you relax.

When ever we can we prefer to extract a tooth and place the dental implant immediately into the socket. This ensures that there is a minimal amount of shrinking of the gum which promotes a more aesthetic result at the end.

Generally speaking the dental implant procedure is broken down into five stages.

1. Planning and diagnostics to ensure that you are suitable to replace missing teeth with dental implants.
2. Gentle placement of the dental implants into your mouth.
3. A healing period whilst the dental implants integrate with your jaw.
4. Post healing try in of your final new teeth prior to completion.
5. Fitting of your final new teeth onto the dental implants.

This procedure varies depending upon the amount of implants placed and your unique situation.

Pictures of dental implants

Modern implants are actually so good that it is often almost impossible to distinguish them from your natural teeth as the following photograph shows… Can you tell which is the dental implant?

Another great picture of a dental implant is this one.

It clearly shows that the tooth part of the implant, the part that you see, looks exactly like your natural teeth and the only difference is that the root of your tooth is replaced by the dental implant itself.

Amazingly your body does not recognise the difference between the titanium dental implant and the natural tooth, this means that the implant is readily accepted and even welcomed into the bone of your jaw so that it becomes fully integrated at a microscopic level.

How much are dental implants, what is their cost?

Of course the cost of dental implants varies from practice to practice and there are a few things you should consider when working out the total cost.

• Does the practice you are considering going to offer dental sedation to help you relax during treatment?
• What is the experience of the practice in dental implants, ask to see photographs of actual cases and testimonials from happy patients.
• Have a good look around the premises, you want to be sure that cross infection control procedures are rigidly adhered to (as indeed they should be).
• Are the surroundings comfortable and relaxing which make the whole process far more relaxing.
• Ask to meet the dentist that would be doing your dental implants, and ensure that you have a good rapport with them and trust them.
• Check availability for emergency dental appointments just in case you have a problem after the dental implant is placed.
• Check the follow-up procedure, you want to rest knowing that the dental practice will contact you afterwards to ensure everything is okay.

Another thing to remember when talking about the cost of implants is the alternative is either a denture, which many people don't like, or a dental bridge. With the bridge it is necessary to cut down probably the teeth either side of the implant. These are then used to bridge the gap and so to replace one tooth means having a dental bridge of three teeth.

This of course is then reflected in the price as you will have to pay for a three tooth bridge.

Here are our prices from our practice on the outskirts of Bristol.

• To replace one single tooth with a three unit dental bridge - from £1815
• To replace one single tooth with a dental implant - from £2500

We offer 20% discount for patients that during our dental membership plan which includes two healthy mouth reviews and to dental hygiene appointments each year for £15 per month.

How are dental implants placed?

The procedure is a minor surgical one which involves replacing your missing tooth rooth with the implant. Dental implants have been used for many years now with an excellent success rate so you are sure to have a great result.

Once the your new implant has been placed we normally wait around 3-6 months to allow full healing, then we can place a new tooth on top. On some cases it is possible to provide a new tooth for you sooner than this using a technique called 'immediate loading', to find out if this option is suitable for you please discuss this with us when you come to see us.

Do implants hurt?

No. All treatment is carried out under a local anaesthetic and for very nervous patients we can offer dental sedation. If you feel you are nervous of this procedure, why not download our free guide to overcoming your fear at the dentist

How many dental implants will I need?

This depends on how many teeth you have missing. As a general rule we can 'bridge' between implants, so if you have 4 teeth missing in a row we could place 2 implants at each end and 'suspend' 2 teeth between them. However it does depend on several factors and only a proper dental implant examination at our Bristol practice will be able to tell for sure.

If you have no teeth at all, then it is possible to provide a new ful set of teeth with just 4 implants.

I am nervous of the dentist, how can I get dental implants?

We have a great deal of experience with working with people that are nervous, to help we've written a free guide and can offer dental sedation for implants.

Dental Implants and Dentures

Occasionally we use dental implants to stabilise loose all wobbly dentures. We can either use your existing dentures or make new ones, it all depends on your personal preference.

If we use dental implants for dentures we will typically use two implants located in the canine region of your jaw. Rather than place a tooth on top of these implants we place what is known as a dental attachment. Normally this attachment is a ball and clip, with the ball being on the end of the implant and the clip being on the inside of your denture.

When you place your denture into your mouth you simply click it down onto the ball attachment on the dental implant. This makes your denture almost completely rigid so that it does not move around when you speak or eat.

Most dentures can be modified to accept this clip and so you can keep your old comfortable dentures if you so desire.

More about implants at Evolve Dentistry

Tell me more about looking after my teeth